Democrats seek to raise minimum wage by almost $3 an hour

WASHINGTON (AP) - House and Senate Democrats want to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, more than a dollar higher than President Barack Obama proposed in his State of the Union address.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and California Rep. George Miller say their bill, introduced Tuesday, would boost the minimum from its current rate of $7.25 an hour by 2015. It then calls for automatic annual increases tied to changes in the cost of living.

Obama's proposal last month called for an increase to $9 an hour, but Harkin says that doesn't go far enough.

The lawmakers say a hike in the minimum wage would help lift millions of workers out of poverty and boost the economy. But top Republicans have rejected the idea, saying it would hurt employers.